The Turnaround Strategy of J.C Penny - Article Example

In 2018, the department store retailer has cut hundreds of occupations, frustrated investors in successive income reports, and struggled to considerably enhance clothing auctions following dramatic phases to do so in 2017 (Unglesbee, 2018). While some predictors view J.C Penny as one of the remaining effective players in the department store industry, other analysts are losing their tolerance with the firm’s turnaround determinations that have yet to generate permanent positive paybacks or equivalent sales progression (Unglesbee, 2018). The turnaround strategy of J.C Penny was complicated by the unexpected resignation of the firm’s chief administrator. In 2018, the former CEO Marvin Ellison was doing what other department store nobles were doing. These are figuring out what clients still admire them about and doubling down on those aspects while at the same time establishing digital skills and striving to capture industry share in all opportunities the firm would get. 

Anchored to malls

During the 1960s, J.C Penny experienced a major evolution in retail. As an online retailer back in this period, the organization was striving to make itself a department store chain. In these efforts, the firm fixed itself to the fortune of a suburban mall. A former shopping center manager, Bill Mosccarelli began his work with J.C Penny while the firm was operating in its 30,000 square-foot stores for 200,000 square-foot division stores intended to contend with entities such as Sears and Macy's. Ever since, the firm has strived to implement its objective of anchoring itself to malls (Unglesbee, 2018).

Omnichannel excellence

Beyond the development of appliances and beauty, the firm has in recent years upped its omnichannel game that retail predictors normally perceive as an essential venture in the sector's future. Ellison stated that in the past two years when he served as the CEO, the firm has been committed to changing itself from an organization mainly centered on the brick-and-mortar trade to a real omnichannel vendor (Unglesbee, 2018). 

Report

• The selected firm was J.C Penny.
• The news material is relevant to the course reading since it is deliberating on the turnaround strategies adopted by J.C Penny. These strategies have been described on page 174 in the coursebook.
• According to the coursebook, a turnaround strategy entails reversing reduction in efficiency as well as reinvigorating progression towards productivity (page 174).
• In the news material analyzed, analysts are using environmental forecasting techniques to base their argument on turnaround strategies adopted by J.C Penny.
• According to the course material, environmental monitoring and forecasting are significant inputs for the implementation of turnaround strategies. The process of forecasting the environment entails the initiation of plausible projections concerning the intensity, speed, scope, and direction of environmental transformation.
• The aim of environmental forecasting is to predict change, thus enhancing turnaround strategies.
• In accordance with the article, J.C adopts two main turnaround strategies which are an omnichannel plan and anchored stores.
• According to the news material, J.C Penny is striving to adopt an omnichannel plan. The organization is trying to incorporate its physical warehouses and its supply scheme with the best-in-class e-commerce so as to establish an all-inclusive online shopping familiarity for its customers.
• If these turnaround strategies are successfully executed, J.C Penny will offer its clients what they require, at the time they want it as well as at the best cost they can acquire it for both the online ordering and the physical store.
• The firm has anchored itself to stores as a turnaround strategy.
• An anchor store refers to a large department store at the shopping mall.
• Contingent on the shopping mall, there are usually at least two or more than one anchor store with each at either end of the shopping center.
• Further, J.C Penny strives to fully implement an omnichannel strategy of retailing.
• An omnichannel strategy refers to a technique of marketing and sales that offers clients a completely integrated shopping encounter by bonding operator involvements from brick-and-mortar to mobile surfing (Plus, 2018).
• Thus, the omnichannel strategy is a significant technique for retailers.
• Organizations that implement omnichannel strategy retain a mean of 89 percent of their clients from one channel to another.
• The major perception is that in an omnichannel strategy, each client interface changes their general encounter of the firm’s brands and products.
• omnichannel strategy retail centers on each client interaction and their general encounter with the firm's commodities and services (Plus, 2018).
• The omnichannel strategy provides different shopping modes for its clients either by the client physically visiting the store or by online shopping and the client selects the mode in which they are comfortable.
• It is imperative to create an Omni-Channel retail strategy as it is bound to significantly increase the organization’s ratings for customer experience.
• In contemporary society, most consumers utilize one channel and subsequently shift to another, therefore, it is important to guarantee consistency and relevance in each of the channels.